rigamagician
Riga
Toronto, Canada 
Member Since: Sep 26, 2008
Last Login: Nov 20, 2009
Profile Views: 3663
Points: 3805
Occupation: Teacher, translator, writer
About Me:
My grandfather taught me how to play chess when I was 4. I ran my high school chess club, and had the honour of facing off against many local masters through our university club. I moved to Japan for many years (flirting with Shogi and Go) before returning to Canada where I renewed my interest in chess. My handle refers to the Magician from Riga, the former world champion Mikhail Tal. At his best, Tal had the ability to launch into mind-bogglingly complex positions with highly speculative sacrifices against even the strongest of opponents, and I try to incorporate some of that spirit into my games.